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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Force of Religious and Secualrized Freedom

Ready? Brace yourselves, because these are the things I believe.

I believe that there is one creator god who got so angry with his creation that he completely flooded it once. I also believe that this creator god is not just one being, but three persons within one (I know what you're thinking: Is he schizoid or siamese?). I believe that one of those persons incepted a virgin teenage girl with another one. I believe that this man-god walked among us and healed people in ways that modern science and medicine would find absolutely quackery. He also rearranged molecular particles to make bread and fish multiply thousands-fold, to heal optic nerves, and to turn water into wine. This man-god, however, couldn't save himself from death... because he chose not to. And, according to my belief, he up and walked out of his tomb two days later.

And can walk between walls now.

These are, to be honest, fantastical and unrealistic beliefs. But that's okay. We live in a world where we are free to believe and disbelieve any notion we choose - even when external forces choose for us not to. More to the point, despite what some say, I find that these and related beliefs have made me more considerate, more kind, more compassionate. Our belief systems - whether religious or philosophical - tend to color our world and our interactions with them. That is inevitle, and it can be a good thing.

But if we're not careful, our freedoms to believe as we want and act accordingly can cause considerable harm.

An atheist cheerleads war with predominately Muslim countries in efforts to bomb Islam off the face of the Earth.

A religious sect preaches that Black people are the spawn of Satan.

A Baptist school outlaws interracial coupling.

Satanist sects hang dead cats on doors.

Fundamentalist Christians force creationism in the public schools as a form of science.

Hebrew holy scriptures are used to justify the genocide of native Palestinians.

Theocrats of most faiths threaten, ostracize, and sometimes kill converts and non-co-religionists.

Some Muslims mutilate their daughters' privates.

Jehovah's Witnesses are way too friendly at 9 on Saturday mornings.

And celibate, male priests and bishops tell women how they should take care of their potentially child-bearing bodies.

Any right of religion/philosophy ends where it injures or violates others. Conservative Christians and Muslims have the right to refuse to marry homosexuals. But they should not be allowed to prevent homosexuals from marrying.

Believing in a Flying Spaghetti Monster, a million gods, or no god at all is perfectly fine and acceptable. Using that strain of belief to guide and protect bigotry, hatred, and murder (as Hitler did with various philosophies and Christian sects) is unacceptable.